The invention relates to a hi-hat percussion instrument for generating sounds by causing cymbals to come together, with one cymbal being attached to a fixed tube and the other cymbal being mounted on a bar that moves up and down and is caused to move by means of an operating device.
During musical performances, in addition to various drums and kettledrums, use is made of convex cymbal plates or cymbals. Individual or several cymbals can be used as percussion instruments, and they are hit with sticks or other appropriate devices to generate a sound. The cymbals can be caused to strike each other, and in this case two cymbals, preferably of the same size, are used to come together at their rims. At the time of such strike, the cymbals, which are preferably made of metal, oscillate, and, as a result, an especially long sound is generated. So-called hi-hats belong to standard percussion equipment. The main components of such instruments are two cymbals, which are caused to come together under a pedal control when the sound is generated in such a manner as to touch each other at their rims. Generally, the upper cymbal is movable, and the lower cymbal is fixed. When the pedal is moved, a bar, which is mounted at the lower end of the pedal by means of a spring and has its upper end attached to the upper cymbal, moves down inside a tube. The upper cymbal strikes the oppositely mounted cymbal that is attached to the tube. This results in generation of a typically metallic long-sustained sound. During concerts, as well as during recording on a sound carrier in a studio, hi-hats are used as rhythmic instruments, which are generally operated in a timely fashion the percussion instruments with the foot control. The other foot is likewise used for a bass drum.
There is a problem that with a single operating device, normally a pedal, only single strikes of maximum two cymbals can be performed. The footwork of the drummer is normally limited to the operating of the bass drum with one foot and to the bringing together the two cymbals while generating one sound with the other foot. In the best case, the variation capabilities reside in the fact that cymbals of different size can be used to generate different sounds. During a concert, a plurality of such hi-hats can be played by several persons simultaneously in order to generate an intensive or saturated sound. Certain effects, e.g., two offset sounds cannot be realized with the state-of-the art instruments. It can be achieved by using modern techniques during a studio recording session by receiving the sound through a plurality of channels in order to obtain a reach or offset sound. However, this requires high technology and take time, and such results cannot be accomplished during a live concert.